George Yeo told PM Lee he was 'temperamentally unsuited' for role when asked to run for 2011 Presidential Election

Despite being personally asked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong if he could run in the 2011 Presidential Election, former Cabinet minister George Yeo turned down the idea then, saying he was "temperamentally unsuited" to be the head of state. 

Yeo, 68, revealed this to CNA and Today on Tuesday (Aug 15) during an interview on the release of the third volume of his book series, George Yeo: Musings. 

"I was among a few whom PM Lee thought could beat Tan Cheng Bock," he recalled.

He then told PM Lee he was "temperamentally unsuited to be president", and that he would only do it out of duty and not out of ambition. 

“I then said he could treat me as a spare tyre to be used only in an emergency." 

In the end, Yeo told PM Lee that he "was not going to stand if he had another candidate in mind".

When Tony Tan eventually offered himself as a candidate, Yeo was "happy to move on". 

In his book, Yeo also shared that the late Lee Kuan Yew also encouraged him to stand in the 2011 Presidential Election after the former lost his parliamentary seat in Aljunied GRC in the general elections that year to the Workers' Party. 

Tan eventually won the election, beating Tan Cheng Bock in a four-horse race and served as President from 2011 to 2017. 

Yeo then joined Kerry Logistics Network and served as its chairman and executive director from 2012 to 2019. 

In 2021, he was appointed as an independent non-executive director of Creative Technology. 

Despite moving on from politics, Yeo's name popped up again as as a potential presidential candidate in 2022 - a year before the incumbent president, Madam Halimah Yacob's six-year term was due to end. 

In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao last August, Yeo once again refuted claims that he would be throwing his hat into the ring for the 2023 Presidential Election. 

"I'm a bit of a free spirit, I like to talk, I like to speculate... Sometimes I'm politically incorrect in the things I say. Now that I'm in semi-retirement, I relish and cherish this freedom." 

"So this is not a prospect which attracts me," said Yeo. 

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claudiatan@asiaone.com